Hedvig Mollestad Trio - Black Stabat Mater

2016 release.

With three albums under their belts in less than five years this explosive trio have gone from strength to strength gathering respect from both rock and jazz camps and receiving vivid praise from the likes of Rolling Stone senior editor David Fricke and veteran writer Richard Williams, who started his report from the Berlin Jazz Festival with "a late-night gig last week persuaded me that Hedvig Mollestad Trio have found a way to make head banging feel good".

Although there is enough riffing here to satisfy the head-bangers, with Black Stabat Mater the trio are venturing into more free and open landscapes, Mollestad truly comes into her own as a solo guitarist as well as a riff-meister previously compared to the likes of Tony Iommi and Jimmy Page. It´s also notable that extensive touring has given them a confidence boost, and once again the tracks have been laid down live in the studio with only minor overdubs.

The last few years have seen a thrilling new progressive wave of Norwegian "avant jazz'n'rock" or free metal energy combos like label mates Elephant9, Grand General, Bushman´s Revenge and Krokofant, and not to forget the mighty Scorch Trio - led by Finnish guitarist Raoul Björkenheim - who can be said to have started it all some 15 years ago. But it could very well be Hedvig Mollestad Trio that defines it all with their ability to turn the full force of heavy rock and electric jazz to demonic purposes.